Adorable Nightgowns for Girls
In our family, the traditional one present on Christmas Eve is always new pajamas for each child. The other night I ran across the cutest little nightgowns for girls, in the clearance section at Lands’ End, and just had to share them with you all! I actually ended up ordering two for each of my girls, this one in solid red, and this fleece one in ivory. (In fact, this one would actually make a darling gown for Santa Lucia Day!) They have others available as well, all 50-70% off regular price!While I was there I also ordered cowboy themed fleece and flannel pajama pants for my boys.
Although I placed my order directly through Lands End, it appears that they are also available on Amazon
. (It won’t let me link directly, so search under Girls Sleepwear Lands’ End.)Now I can check those four items off my list!!
Small Successes: June 4, 2009
- After washing and drying 7 loads of laundry yesterday, and then 2 more this morning, I am completely caught up with our laundry! In addition to those loads, I had an additional 5-6 which had been washed over the weekend and never put away. (It was a super busy weekend!) It feels so nice to be caught up once again!
- Rascal’s tuxedo arrived!!! (He will be the ring bearer in my little brother’s wedding later this month.) I couldn’t be happier that it is really nice, only cost $30.65 (including shipping and insurance), and FITS!
- After receiving a few emails asking what we are planning to study this coming year, I finally started posting our plans beginning with World History. Since there are SO many wonderful programs to choose from, and since every family (and child within each family!) is so different, there really isn’t a “perfect” program. I am just sharing what seems to work for us. Plus, posting our plans seems to help me stay a little more organized. 😉 I’ll be posting more soon!
Our Plan 2009-2010: World History
This past year, we all really enjoyed studying Ancient History using RC History’s Connecting With History Volume 1: Creation to 63 B.C. We didn’t get to near as many hands-on projects this year as I would have liked, but we have all really enjoyed reading and discussing the recommended books! I just love that, with this program, we all work on the same time period together each year, based on a four year rotation and the Teacher’s Guide provides everything you need for Kindergarten through High School!!! (Each student has individual assignments based on their current grade level.)
We still have four more units to finish during the summer, but I went ahead and ordered Connecting With History Volume 2: The Arrival of the King and His Kingdom, which we will begin in the fall. Volume 2 consists of a total of 7 units, so I am hoping we can get through units 1-4 before the baby arrives in December, and then we will finish the remaining 3 next year.
“An in-depth study of the New Testament and Early Church history, this volume emphasizes the life and death of Christ as the central point of history and goes on to show the birth and spread of the Church as the Body of Christ, and its perseverance and growth through persecutions. The Church moves forward into the medieval period of history, spreading to new nations and replacing the Roman Empire with the Holy Roman Empire.”
Here is the list of books we will be using this year which are for the Beginner Level, Grades K-3:
Teacher’s Resources:
- Volume Two: The Arrival of the King and His Kingdom (63 B.C. – 1066 A.D.)
- Timeline Cards (63 B.C. – 1066 A.D.) – from RC History
- Report Pages and Blank Timelines – from RC History
- Blackline Maps of World History
Reading List:
- Spend the Day in Ancient Rome: Projects and Activities that Bring the Past to Life
- How to Be a Roman Soldier
- Mary My Mother
- Good Saint Joseph
- Jesus With Us: The Gift of the Eucharist
- The Miracles of Jesus
- The Parables of Jesus
- Pompeii…Buried Alive!
- St. Meinrad
- St. Paul Coloring Book
- Saint Peter the Apostle
- Apostles of Jesus
- Vikings: Dress, Eat, Write, and Play Just Like the Vikings (Hands-on History)
- We’re Riding on a Caravan
- Who Were the Vikings
Ancient Rome (Modern Rhymes About Ancient Times)
Supplemental:
- Christopher: The Holy Giant
- Good King Wenceslas
- Jesus
- Leif the Lucky
- Mary: The Mother of Jesus
- Just Like Mary
- Ancient Rome (Modern Rhymes About Ancient Times)
- Saint Patrick
- Saint Valentine
- Saint George and the Dragon
- The Holy Twins
- The Story of King Arthur
- The Sword in the Tree
A few of the core texts above are also used in the Grammar Level, Grades 4-6. Even tough Captain will be in 3rd grade, since we have already read many of the books on the K-3 list, I went ahead and ordered the books for the Grammar Level as well. We probably won’t use all of them this year, but they will be great to have in the future!
Reading List:
- Augustus Caesar’s World
- People of the Bible: Life and Customs
- City: A Story of Roman Planning and Construction
- The Silk Route: 7,000 Miles of History
- St. Philomena (Coloring Book)
- Gladiator
- I Believe: The Nicene Creed
- Color Your Own Book of Kells (Coloring Books)
- Life in Celtic Times
- Step Into: the Viking World
Supplemental:
- Cleopatra
- Adventures of Saint Paul
- City of the Golden House
- Saint Benedict: The Story of the Father of the Western Monks
- The Man Who Never Died: The Life and Adventures of St. Peter, the First Pope
- Galen and the Gateway to Medicine
- The White Isle
- Brendan the Navigator
- Beorn the Proud
- Son of Charlemagne
- Beowulf
- D’Aulaires’ Book of Norse Myths
- King Arthur: Tales from the Round Table
- The Blackbird’s Nest: Saint Kevin of Ireland
- Ben Hur (Radio Theatre)
The pictures do not reflect all of the listed books… More keep arriving each day, creating quite the exciting atmosphere in our home!! I am sure I could have borrowed some of these from the library, but I haven’t been doing the best with returning the books on time, and since I plan to use this program with all of my children I feel it is worth investing in these great books!
It should be another fun year!
Wordless Wednesday
Young Hunters Day
Saturday morning all 8 of the kids were up bright and early, ready to go to the annual Young Hunters Day in our county!
Young Hunters Day is a free fun filled day (from 9:00 to 1:00), sponsored the local Hunters Association, for children ages 2-16. The children could participate in archery and shotgun shooting, fishing, pelt identification, and tomahawk throwing, with safety emphasized of course. Every child present could win one of the many raffle prizes and a yummy BBQ lunch was provided as well!
Here are a few pictures from the day:
We waited too long, and it got too hot, to have a short ride in the Hot Air Balloon, plus the only person that was willing to go up with me was Branch and I wasn’t sure her mom would approve… We did get to watch them take it down though! And isn’t it the perfect colors for Pentecost weekend!! 😉
~ Pelt Identification ~
~ The Raffle ~
I found it pretty funny that our little Twinkle Toes won one of the Grand Prizes, a Crosman Air Rifle 
~ The Group Photo ~
8 Children ages 8 and Under…
I’m pretty sure my body tricked me into thinking I had the flu Sunday night beginning at 12:00am so that I could spend the next 36 hours in bed or the bathroom?? Bleh!! Since none of my children have gotten sick yet, I am still not sure it was actually the flu?! Anyhow, I am well rested now, and feeling much better!!
Enough about me… Back to this weekend!! Friday afternoon, after we attended Mass and Benediction, followed by lunch with Father, we had the privileged of watching the three little Treehouse Kids while their parents went off to this beautiful destination to celebrate their 10th anniversary! We all had SO MUCH FUN!!
Friday night we headed to the boys Baseball game. We had front row seats to watch Captain and Rascal’s game!
The boys played well, though it was a close game and the Ranger’s beat us in the last inning: 19 to 17.
Since it was SO hot outside, I told the girls we would have popsicles as soon as we got back home! (Plus I had promised one particular little girl a pink popsicle to make her feel a bit better about being left at our house! 😉 I’m so awful!!)
The game didn’t end till after 8, so by the time everyone had eaten their popcicles, gotten in their pj’s, brushed their teeth, said prayers, and headed to bed it was LATE! I think it was nearly 11 before the girls stopped giggling and fell asleep! This was the first sleepover we have ever had with friends, and my children LOVED it!
Well, I have to get back to my disastrous house… One day in bed, with five little ones running around, and it looks like it was hit by a tornado! I’ll be back soon to share a few pictures from Saturday. See you then!
Catholic New Media Awards
Voting has begun for the 2009 Catholic New Media Awards!!
I was so surprised and excited to see that Shower of Roses was nominated for the following categories:
- People’s Choice Blog
- Best Blog by a Woman
- Best Written Blog
- Most Spiritual Blog
- Most Informative Blog
- Most Entertaining Blog
And Catholic Cuisine was also nominated for:
- Best Group Blog
Thank you to those of you who nominated both Shower of Roses and Catholic Cuisine! What an honor to be included amongst the amazing list of nominees including some of my personal favorites: In the Heart of My Home, What Does the Prayer Really Say, Audio Sancto, Faith and Family Live!, Under Her Starry Mantle, O Night Divine, Tales from the Bonny Blue House, American Papist: Not Your Average Catholic, Faith Filled Days, and Building Cathedrals!
Please consider registering and voting for us!
Celebrating Pentecost, the Birthday of the Church!
“Pentecost Sunday is the second greatest Feast of the liturgical year — the first being Easter — and takes place 50 days (7 weeks) after Easter (the earliest possible date for this Feast is 10 May). This day celebrates the coming of the Holy Ghost upon the disciples and Our Lady and, in a sense, the reversal of the story of the Tower of Babel in that the the Apostles were given the gift of tongues by which they could preach and be understood by anyone in any language — a demonstration of the Church’s true catholicity.” Source
~ White Donuts after Mass on “Whitsunday,” another name for Pentecost ~
~ Completed our Garden of the Good Shepherd Calendar~
We made them from strawberries this year since one of the girls seems to be allergic to red food coloring. However, I should have let them dry out a little since the juices ran down the sides of the cake! Oops!
After dinner (which was nothing special, unless you are a pregnant momma craving Albacore Tuna Melts!) the children colored some pictures of the Apostles on Pentecost. The day ended with an amazing thunderstorm (preceded by some more “mighty winds!”) while we prayed the rosary on this last day of May, the month of Our Lady!
Prayer for the Seven Gifts of the Holy Ghost
O Lord Jesus Christ, Who, before ascending into heaven, didst promise to send the Holy Ghost to finish Thy work in the souls of Thy Apostles and Disciples, deign to grant the same Holy Spirit to me, that He may perfect in my soul the work of Thy grace and Thy love. Grant me the Spirit of Wisdom that I may despise the perishable things of this world and aspire only after the things that are eternal, the Spirit of Understanding to enlighten my mind with the light of Thy divine truth, the Spirit of Counsel that I may ever choose the surest way of pleasing God and gaining Heaven, the Spirit of Fortitude that I may bear my cross with Thee, and that I may overcome with courage all the obstacles that oppose my salvation, the Spirit of Knowledge that I may know God and know myself and grow perfect in the science of the Saints, the Spirit of Piety that I may find the service of God sweet and amiable, the Spirit of Fear that I may be filled with a loving reverence towards God, and may dread in any way to displease Him. Mark me, dear Lord, with the sign of Thy true disciples and animate me in all things with Thy Spirit. Amen.
I hope you all had a very blessed Pentecost Sunday!
Happy Anniversary!
Today is my brother-in-law’s first anniversary as a priest! The following video was made by a friend of ours using pictures from Father’s ordination. I thought I would share it with you all today. Isn’t it beautiful!?!
Bubble Fun!
This morning I loaded up the stroller and we drove down to our local track so I could walk. As our “special activity” for today, we brought along a fun bubble set that Chiquita was given for her birthday.
While my kiddos were having fun (and after I snapped a few pictures, of course), Snuggles and I were able to make it around the track 8 times!! (That sounds better than I only walked 2 miles, right?!) It felt so nice to be outside walking once again. Now, if I could just turn it into a daily habit…
*I also noticed that it looks like our little Chiquita and Karoline have yet another dress in common! You’d never know that they live on opposite sides of the country… I’m thinking that Karoline’s momma has super cute taste in dresses, don’t you?! ☺
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